Australia: Strong economic releases - TDS

Analysts at TD Securities note that the Westpac consumer confidence index for Australia jumped to its highest level since November 20013, and registered its biggest monthly gain since May 2016.

Key Quotes

“Expectations rose strongly over the month, up 5.1% m/m but gains in confidence were broad based. The economic outlook 5 years ahead was particularly notable, up 9.8% m/m.”

“Home loans were stronger than expected, up 1.1% m/m in May (consensus -2.0% m/m) following a revised drop of 0.9% m/m in April. In terms of the breakdown investment lending remains weak dropping 0.1% m/m while owner-occupier loans rose a robust 0.7% m/m. he data reflects the impact of regulatory measures, tightening lending standards and dampening speculative investment. The data especially investment lending, suggests this is working.”